herbal cocci treatment?

moonspinner · #1 05/02/05, 05:55 PM

A breeder passed along an herbal coccidia treatment to me and just wondering if it has any merit and if anyone has tried it? It's powdered ginger, slippery elm and cloves steeped for 20 minutes and given as a drench. I know ginger and elm soothe the digestive tract, but what would be the role of cloves? Unless cloves reduce cocci load I can only see that this treatment would be supportive.

Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians · #2 05/03/05, 02:25 PM

I agree that it would be just supportive. Slippery elm and ginger are excellent for diarrhea in goats and humans, but stopping the diarrhea does no stop the damage to cocci or worms is doing or has already done to the intestine. You want to cure the cause of the diarrhea. And like the mastitis cures that ruin the udder in the long run with no lactation from built up scar tissue, rather than killing the bacteria so the udder can function again....treating cocci or worms with things like this leaves you with a live goat, but to what end? Pinched, stunted with the big ethiopian belly, intestines scarred so they can no longer absorb nutritients from the grain they eat? If I am so lacking in the way I raise goats that I can't prevent disease, that if you do have disease at least give the goat the right meds to quickly cure it, then support it with herbal remedies. Or use the herbal/holisitc preventions, then if they don't work, use meds. Vicki

debitaber · #3 05/04/05, 03:19 PM

Well said, and thank you Vicki, There are so many people that are worming with herbs, and the animals end up dying. and so sick. I am with you, if you have a health problem, use the meds.get rid of the problem.

gccrook · #4 05/04/05, 04:04 PM

This is a goodplace to ask this question. I have a goat that I think is stunted in growth. It came from a friend who really had too many and wanted to get rid of some weathers. It was still fairly young when we got it (4 or 5 months) Nubian. It is still as small as my new 6 week old weather. Is there a way to reverse this, and can he ever grow fully, or should I just accept that he will never get any bigger. I did not treat for cociddia when I got him as I was new and unaware of this, and I'm not sure how you treat coccidia, only know the prevention. Is the treatment the same as the prevention? Seems unlikely. My goats born this year at my farm all seem to be fine now, and growing well.

moonspinner · #5 05/05/05, 11:05 AM

A cocci overload CAN cause stunting of growth and be otherwise asymptomatic. Not to say that's what happened with yours; just it is possible. Preventative treatment can range from a supplement as a top dressing to a powder you mix in the water or a liquid. Some breeders treat their kids at 3 weeks, 6 weeks and atweaning. My tipoff to a cocci problem has thus far been diarrhea in kids - a stool with a telltale cocci odor. When I see this I get on it immediately. I treat five days with Sulmet as a drench; seven days if a bad case. With stubborn cases you can get SMZ from the vet. Be sure you treat the entire five days or this can rebound.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gccrook

This is a goodplace to ask this question. I have a goat that I think is stunted in growth. It came from a friend who really had too many and wanted to get rid of some weathers. It was still fairly young when we got it (4 or 5 months) Nubian. It is still as small as my new 6 week old weather. Is there a way to reverse this, and can he ever grow fully, or should I just accept that he will never get any bigger. I did not treat for cociddia when I got him as I was new and unaware of this, and I'm not sure how you treat coccidia, only know the prevention. Is the treatment the same as the prevention? Seems unlikely. My goats born this year at my farm all seem to be fine now, and growing well.